After 286 Days at Sea, 5,000 Sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln Dock in Thailand

LAEM CHABANG, Thailand—After 286 days at sea, the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier with nearly 5,000 sailors and Marines on board finally docked in eastern Thailand Wednesday morning for a port call.

Carrying backpacks and duffel bags, and wearing civilian clothes, crew members smiled and waved at a small crowd that had assembled to meet them.

“Feels great,” one of the men coming off the ship said to claps and cheers.

The Lincoln played a key role in the U.S. bombing against Iran and participated in President Trump’s continuing blockade of Iranian ports. It spent more than 200 days in a combat zone and launched more than 10,000 sorties, according to acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao.

Among those waiting for the sailors on Wednesday was Gavin West, a 44-year-old Army veteran from Chicago who now lives in Thailand.

West, who served in Iraq, held a big American flag to welcome the crew.

“I can’t imagine what they’re going through,” he said. “Even being deployed in Iraq isn’t as bad as being deployed on a ship. And we were being bombed every day.”

Many of the sailors and Marines from the Lincoln will spend their first extended time on land in more than nine months in the nearby beach town of Pattaya, which is known for its nightlife.

The carrier’s unusually long deployment, along with reports of fresh-food shortages and mental-health challenges on board, have prompted questions from family members and Democratic lawmakers.

The Navy has acknowledged the difficulties associated with long deployments, but said there was always adequate food and that “a small number” of mental-health issues were treated with no loss of life.

“What this strike group has accomplished is truly historic,” Rear Adm. Robert E. Loughran, commander of Carrier Strike Group 3, which includes the Lincoln, said in a statement Wednesday. “I could not be prouder of the exceptional professionalism and expertise demonstrated by every member of this team during our operations.”

On the official Facebook page for the Lincoln in recent days, the Navy posted images of a barbecue in the carrier’s hangar bay, with sailors lining up for burgers and hot dogs. Another post said there had been 1,031 fitness classes and 36 fitness competitions during their deployment. There were also videos of sailors discussing how they dealt with the mission.

“I’ve missed a lot with my family. I’ve missed every birthday, every anniversary,” said one sailor, adding that he wasn’t able to be home to comfort relatives after the deaths of his aunt and mother-in-law. But the sailor, who wasn’t identified, added, “One of the biggest things I’m most proud of is not quitting.”

The Lincoln left its home port of San Diego in November. Though it stopped in Guam in December and briefly in Oman in July, the Navy said the Thailand visit is its first full port stop since the start of its deployment. It arrived in eastern Thailand along with the USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., a guided-missile destroyer that had also been deployed in the Middle East, and the USS Robert Smalls, a guided-missile cruiser.

In Pattaya, officials and businesses were getting ready to host the troops on Wednesday morning.

As buses filled with sailors drove through central Pattaya, women in some of the roadside bars and shopkeepers cheered and waved.

Ahead of the ship’s arrival, local police had rounded up some sex workers who were new to the area. Prostitution is illegal in Thailand. Pattaya’s mayor, Poramet Ngampichet, told journalists Wednesday that the sailors and Marines had been told to stay away from two streets after sunset that are popular hangouts for the city’s sex workers.

Todd Wende, a former command master chief in the Navy who served on aircraft carriers, said sailors can usually expect a port call every 30 to 45 days. “I think the main thing these guys want is just to be off that ship, and have a decent meal and not have somebody be in charge of them for a few days,” he said.

On board, he said the sailors likely had to battle the uncertainty of how long their deployment was going to last, while also avoiding complacency and maintaining sharp focus in a dangerous environment.

Plenty of things can go wrong on the ship. Aircraft being moved around the flight deck could hit something else. The wrong pressure could be dialed into the catapult system used to launch the planes. Lookouts might be tired and miss potential threats.

“It turns into Groundhog Day on there,” Wende said. Of the sailors’ mental state, he said, “It does make you fuzzy…There’s five to six thousand people on the ship, and you just probably see the same 50 a day.”

Some locals were hoping the sailors would venture beyond Pattaya’s core of bars and restaurants. At Coffee War, a cafe and museum with a big collection of American surplus jeeps, aircraft and equipment about a half-hour drive from town, owner Damri Sangtang said U.S. sailors would be welcome. Visitors can drink coffee in an old Boeing 777 airframe.

The U.S. personnel are arriving in the middle of the area’s low tourist season. Damri said recent numbers are 30% below what is normal for this time of the year, reflecting travel disruptions and high ticket prices amid the Iran conflict.

“Having U.S. troops visit benefits our local economy through their spending on food, travel, and shopping,” said Damri, who served in the Royal Thai Navy. “I hope Thai people see them as tourists stimulating our economy rather than just focusing on nightlife.”

Back at the port, West, the Army veteran welcoming the sailors, said he could identify with the reports of mental-health challenges on board the ship.

“In a boat, you sleep in a coffin,” he said. “You’re sleeping in a coffin for nine months. That would drive me crazy.”